Overnight Layover and baggage

[TSUmom]

Not sure where I should ask this question but thought I would give it a try here.  We will have an overnight layover in Dallas.  We booked ourselves and fly out of our regional airport here in Texas to DFW in the evening and our flight to Alaska is the next morning.  I am wondering if they check our bags straight through to Fairbanks or if we will need to pick them up in Dallas and re-check the next day.  I need to figure how to pack and whether I need to take a small carry-on for the overnight hotel stay.  

[CruiserBruce]

Tell us more. Airline? Schedule?

 

Generally, if the routing is the most direct, on the same or allied/cooperating airlines, they will keep your bag. But if you are not meeting those criteria (for example, you are using Southwest for one leg, or extending your layover at DFW for your own convenience... to get that sleep), you will need to claim your bag.

[TSUmom]

American Airlines.  We have an eagle flight from Waco Regional arriving at DFW 7:40 pm on a Tuesday.  Our next flight will be DFW to ANC departing at 12:20 pm Wed then ANC to FAI on Alaska airlines.  It is all booked on one ticket.  We booked this way because the flight times out of Waco.

[CruiserBruce]

6 minutes ago, TSUmom said:

American Airlines.  We have an eagle flight from Waco Regional arriving at DFW 7:40 pm on a Tuesday.  Our next flight will be DFW to ANC departing at 12:20 pm Wed then ANC to FAI on Alaska airlines.  It is all booked on one ticket.  We booked this way because the flight times out of Waco.

I would expect they will hold your luggage. You can ask to claim it in DFW.

[TSUmom]

2 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

I would expect they will hold your luggage. You can ask to claim it in DFW.

Thank you....I will ask them to check bags to DFW when I check in with Waco and then re check in Dallas.  That way I will have my luggage and not wonder if it made it onto our flight to ANC

[6rugrats]

They will tag your bags to your final destination, hold them,  then load them on your next flight.

I don’t know if AA will allow you to short check your bags.

I would add that asking for your bag to be retrieved at your connecting city if it’s tagged through is not an easy process, and can take hours.  

Edited November 17, 2022 by 6rugrats

[TSUmom]

44 minutes ago, 6rugrats said:

They will tag your bags to your final destination, hold them,  then load them on your next flight.

I don’t know if AA will allow you to short check your bags.

I would add that asking for your bag to be retrieved at your connecting city if it’s tagged through is not an easy process, and can take hours.  

OK then I will just take a small carry on for overnight.  I usually just check everything but my "big" purse with what I will need.  Thank you.

[Zach1213]

4 hours ago, 6rugrats said:

They will tag your bags to your final destination, hold them,  then load them on your next flight.

I don’t know if AA will allow you to short check your bags.

I would add that asking for your bag to be retrieved at your connecting city if it’s tagged through is not an easy process, and can take hours.  

 

I have done it on AA before, though it has been at least a year since I have - was doing MCI-DFW-QRO with an overnight at DFW and they did allow it to be tagged only to DFW upon my request. YMMV, of course. 

Edited November 17, 2022 by Zach1213
Forgot it was QRO, not MEX, as destination.

[TSUmom]

16 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

 

I have done it on AA before, though it has been at least a year since I have - was doing MCI-DFW-QRO with an overnight at DFW and they did allow it to be tagged only to DFW upon my request. YMMV, of course. 

I guess I will just be prepared with and overnight bag.  Personally I would like to pick up all of my luggage in Dallas so that I can make sure sure it gets on my flight from DFW - I would hate to arrive in Alaska and my luggage is still sitting in a "holding" area at DFW.  

[CruiserBruce]

I would suggest you prepare your carry on for the possibility you can't claim your bag at DFW, but when you check in at Waco, you ask if they will only check it to DFW, and claim it at DFW if they allow it.

[Zach1213]

2 hours ago, TSUmom said:

I guess I will just be prepared with and overnight bag.  Personally I would like to pick up all of my luggage in Dallas so that I can make sure sure it gets on my flight from DFW - I would hate to arrive in Alaska and my luggage is still sitting in a "holding" area at DFW.  

 

While I definitely agree it's probably better to have your bag during your overnight, I will say that the odds of it not making it to your flight are small. These systems, especially at major hubs like DFW, are no stranger to overnight or long connections where bags stay within the system for many hours. The system is smart enough to hold on to your bag and then push it out at the appropriate time to meet your next flight. 

[TSUmom]

5 minutes ago, Zach1213 said:

 

While I definitely agree it's probably better to have your bag during your overnight, I will say that the odds of it not making it to your flight are small. These systems, especially at major hubs like DFW, are no stranger to overnight or long connections where bags stay within the system for many hours. The system is smart enough to hold on to your bag and then push it out at the appropriate time to meet your next flight. 

Thank you. 

[hallux]

On 11/17/2022 at 10:50 AM, TSUmom said:

OK then I will just take a small carry on for overnight. 

For what it's worth - if I'm flying with a connecting flight I will try to pack a change of clothes in my carry-on.  Even on a direct flight (which I'm planning for my next cruise) I might do that, but more so I don't have to sift through my main bag in the hotel for clothes to board the ship the day after I fly.

[TSUmom]

On 11/18/2022 at 9:53 PM, hallux said:

For what it's worth - if I'm flying with a connecting flight I will try to pack a change of clothes in my carry-on.  Even on a direct flight (which I'm planning for my next cruise) I might do that, but more so I don't have to sift through my main bag in the hotel for clothes to board the ship the day after I fly.

That sounds like a plan.  The only time I have done that was for our Med cruises but I may just start doing it your way for all cruises.

[Zach1213]

On 11/18/2022 at 9:53 PM, hallux said:

For what it's worth - if I'm flying with a connecting flight I will try to pack a change of clothes in my carry-on.  

 

Absolutely a necessity for me. I learned that one the hard way in my younger days when I made it perfectly on time to Sydney, but my bag decided to go to Auckland for a day first. Luckily Qantas gave me $100 to get some necessities, but it still meant having to go to the store to get some clean stuff. Since then, I always keep a change of clothes (and sometimes even more) in my carryon. 

[hallux]

9 minutes ago, Zach1213 said:

Absolutely a necessity for me

Yeah, I'm not sure how 'try' slipped in there.  When I flew to Mexico City for work in 2015 there was a delay getting off the ground at my home airport.  Enough of a delay that mid-flight I had been re-booked on a later connecting flight.  However, they made up enough time on the way to Atlanta that I was able to get from my arrival terminal to my departure terminal just in time to catch my original flight (they verified I was who I claimed using my passport, scanned my boarding pass from one they had printed on the desk and slammed the door behind me as I went through to the jetway, THAT close, 1 hour delay and only had a 1 hour layover scheduled).  I was REAL nervous my bag wouldn't make it across the tarmac but it must have gotten VIP service as it made it to MEX on the plane with me.  I had a change of clothes and anything SUPER important in my carry-on though.

Edited November 21, 2022 by hallux

[FlyerTalker]

Two-gallon sized ziploc bag works great for your "clothes" bag in a carry-on.  Keeps it all together, and deters the TSA guys from fondling everything.  (Doesn't prevent, but better than nothing).

[6rugrats]

6 hours ago, hallux said:

 I was REAL nervous my bag wouldn't make it across the tarmac but it must have gotten VIP service as it made it to MEX on the plane with me.  I had a change of clothes and anything SUPER important in my carry-on though.

Because of PPBM (Positive Passenger Bag Match) which is required on every international flight,  if you fail to board a flight on which you have checked baggage, those bags must be removed before the plane takes off, or the passenger must be found and boarded.

 

So, if there's a delay on your international flight, sometimes you may want to blame a fellow passenger who failed to board, because it can take a long time to find and offload that bag.

[hallux]

5 hours ago, 6rugrats said:

Because of PPBM (Positive Passenger Bag Match) which is required on every international flight,  if you fail to board a flight on which you have checked baggage, those bags must be removed before the plane takes off, or the passenger must be found and boarded.

Except I was concerned I had made the plane and my bag hadn't.  They're not going to deplane me because my bag didn't make the connection in the same way they would have deplaned my bag if I didn't make the connection.

[LeeW]

If you have your bag only checked to a layover point you are going to pay the bag fee again for the second flight.

[TSUmom]

On 11/26/2022 at 12:39 PM, LeeW said:

If you have your bag only checked to a layover point you are going to pay the bag fee again for the second flight.

I don't want to pay again and really don't want to drag them to the hotel to drag them back to the airport.  Definately taking a carry-on for overnight.  Thank you all for the info!

[CruiserBruce]

On 11/26/2022 at 10:39 AM, LeeW said:

If you have your bag only checked to a layover point you are going to pay the bag fee again for the second flight.

This could depend on your airline status, class of service on the plane, even the credit card you paid for the tickets with.

[TSUmom]

58 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

This could depend on your airline status, class of service on the plane, even the credit card you paid for the tickets with.

I do have free bag status with American but still do not want to haul it around if they can check it through.  I thought there was a max limit of hours they would keep baggage during long layovers..

[no1racefan1]

On 11/29/2022 at 6:50 AM, TSUmom said:

I do have free bag status with American but still do not want to haul it around if they can check it through.  I thought there was a max limit of hours they would keep baggage during long layovers..

This could depend on the airline but yes, some do restrict this. United requires you to collect your bag if your layover is going to be more than 12 hours long.

[TSUmom]

12 hours ago, no1racefan1 said:

This could depend on the airline but yes, some do restrict this. United requires you to collect your bag if your layover is going to be more than 12 hours long.

I think American has a layover limit also but can't find any info on their web site.  I guess I will find out the day I travel.....